Tiger close to ending drought

Woods one round from 1st PGA win since 2009

Associated Press

Published 11:56 pm, Saturday, March 24, 2012

Photo: Sam Greenwood

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 24: Tiger Woods plays a shot on the 9th hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 24, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) less

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 24: Tiger Woods plays a shot on the 9th hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 24, 2012 in Orlando, ... more

Photo: Sam Greenwood

Tiger close to ending drought

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

ORLANDO, Fla. — One swing cost Tiger Woods a comfortable lead at Bay Hill. All that mattered to him was his name atop the leaderboard at the end of the day, leaving him one round away from winning on the PGA Tour for the first time in 30 months.

If anything, Saturday showed that it won't be easy in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

In two holes, Woods went from a four-shot lead to briefly tied with Graeme McDowell after a bizarre chain of events that featured a young man passing out and a woman screaming, all in the middle of Woods' swing on the 15th tee.

But he followed the double bogey with a birdie from a fairway bunker on the par-5 16th to restore his lead, and then hung on for a 1-under 71 that gave him a one-shot lead over McDowell going into the final round.

McDowell didn't make a birdie until the 17th hole, but he was bogey-free on a tough day for a 71.

Woods is 37-2 when he has the outright lead going into the final round, and Sunday will show if he has regained his status as the most formidable closer in golf.

Woods, who was at 11-under 205, last won on the PGA Tour on Sept. 13, 2009, at the BMW Championship. That also was the last time he had the outright lead at a PGA Tour event after 54 holes.

He has never had a better chance to end the drought than now — in the lead and on a course where he has won a record six times.

"I enjoy it," Woods said of his place atop the leaderboard. "It means I've played well to get there. It's not like I'm slashing it all over the place and happened to be at 11-under par. If you're in the lead, you've done some good things. That's how I've always looked at it, and it's a nice position to be in."

Woods has such control of his golf ball that he went 35 consecutive holes with a putter in his hand for a birdie attempt.

The last time Woods and McDowell played in the final group of any tournament, McDowell rallied from four shots behind and beat Woods in a playoff in the Chevron World Challenge at the end of 2010.

"The golf course is going to be the main competitor tomorrow," McDowell said.

Indeed, it might not be just them.

Ernie Els rekindled his hopes of getting into the Masters with six birdies in a round of 67 that left him only three shots behind.

Els played the opening two rounds with Woods and didn't get much out of his game. That changed Saturday during a strong run up the leaderboard that at least gave him a reasonable chance to get into the Masters — and possibly win Bay Hill for the third time.

The Big Easy is at No. 62 in the world and needs to crack the top 50 after Sunday to get an invitation to Augusta.

LPGA: Top-ranked Yani Tseng remained in position for her second straight LPGA Tour title and third in five events this year, shooting a bogey-free 3-under 69 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Kia Classic. Tseng missed a 5-foot birdie try on the par-5 17th, then saved par with an 8-foot putt on the par-4 18th to finish at 12-under 204 on La Costa's Legends Course The 23-year-old Taiwanese star won the LPGA Founders Cup last week in Phoenix for her 14th LPGA Tour title, and also won the LPGA Thailand in February. She led the tour last season with seven victories — including major victories in the LPGA Championship and Women's British Open — and finished the year with 12 worldwide titles. South Korea's Jiyai Shin was second after a 68.

Champions Tour: Jeff Sluman shot an 8-under 64 to climb into a tie with Fred Couples for the second-round lead in the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic. Sluman birdied five of his final seven holes in his bogey-free round to reach 11 under at Fallen Oak. Couples followed his course-record 63 in the opening round with a 70 in the second. Couples made six birdies in a row to finish his course-record round early Saturday morning. Jim Thorpe will join Sluman and Couples be in the final group Sunday. The 63-year-old Thorpe, two strokes back after a 65, is winless on the Champions Tour since 2007. Most of the players had to finish their first rounds early Saturday morning before the second round began. Couples wasn't quite as sharp in the afternoon after his early-morning birdie spree, but remains in good position to win his first Champions Tour title this year and the seventh of his career.

European Tour: Italian teenager Matteo Manassero stayed in the running for the Masters by moving to within a stroke of the leader before darkness halted play in the third round of the Hassan II Trophy. Damien McGrane of Ireland remained atop the leaderboard at 12 under after 10 holes. The 18-year-old Manassero must win to boost his ranking into the top 50 to play at Augusta National. Manassero had seven birdies, including three straight from the 10th hole, to move to 11 under through 16 holes on the Golf du Palais Royal course.